Google CEO Takes the Stage, Touts New Software

Google Inc. Chief Executive Larry Page on Wednesday made a surprise appearance at the Internet company's annual conference for software developers in San Francisco, as he and other executives unveiled several changes to its software lineup.

Mr. Page's appearance came a day after disclosing he had a rare case of vocal cord paralysis that has hurt his ability to speak. As Mr. Page spoke on stage clearly and without difficulty for nearly an hour about how technology can improve people's lives, Google's share price topped $900 for the first time to end the day at $915.89, up nearly 50% over the past year. Google's market capitalization also blew past the $300 billion mark for the first time.

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Google CEO Larry Page says he should have been forthcoming sooner about his health disclosure.
Bloomberg News

"I feel I should have done it sooner," Mr. Page said about his Tuesday health disclosure as he took questions from an audience of6,000 software developers on issues such as privacy and Google's role in the developing world.

The question-and-answer session with Mr. Page capped a relatively muted keynote address compared with last year's Google developer conference, where the company debuted its Google Glass wearable-computing device through a live demonstration involving skydivers, plus other hardware.

Google on Wednesday unveiled new products and services including a paid subscription music-streaming service and a forthcoming mobile-app store for school teachers. But it mainly showcased improvements to existing Web services, such as Google Maps and its vaunted Web-search engine.

Google also said more than 900 million devices powered by its Android mobile operating system had been activated worldwide, up from 400 million a year ago and 100 million two years ago. Dozens of hardware manufacturers use Android to power smartphones and tablets, which come preloaded with Google's revenue generating services such as Web search, YouTube and Google Maps, among others.

During Mr. Page's appearance, he lamented the "negativity" surrounding press coverage of competition among technology giants such as Google, yet criticized companies such as Microsoft Corp. for integrating a Google messaging service into its Outlook email service but not allowing Google to integrate Microsoft into Google's email service. "The Web is probably not as advancing as much as it should be" because of such actions by Microsoft, he said.

A Microsoft spokesman said Wednesday in a statement: "It's ironic that Larry is lending his voice to the discussion of interoperability considering his company's decision—today—to file a cease and desist order to remove the YouTube app from Windows Phone."

A Microsoft spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mr. Page also criticized Oracle Corp. for its handling of patents related to software. A federal jury last year found Google didn't infringe on Oracle's Java patents. "Money is more important to them than having any kind of collaboration," Mr. Page said of Oracle.

An Oracle spokeswoman spokeswoman declined to comment.

Before Mr. Page's appearance, Google announced a mobile-app store for educators, a move designed to increase the use of devices powered by its Android mobile operating system in the classroom. Google said the app store, which will launch in the fall, will feature tablet apps tailored to children, such as those that teach them mathematical skills.

People can access specific songs they want, similar to Spotify AB's service, and can create a "radio station" that continuously plays music of a particular genre, a format pioneered by Pandora Media Inc. Unlike Google's service, Spotify and Pandora have free, ad-supported versions in addition to paid ones.

The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday reported on the new Google music service.

A spokesman for Spotify declined comment. A spokeswoman for Pandora said its service had 200 million registered users in the U.S. and had spent 13 years doing "music data science engineering," but it declined to comment on the new Google rival.

A new mobile-app store for educators is designed to increase the use of devices powered by Google's Android mobile operating system in the classroom. Google said the app store, which will launch in the fall, will feature tablet apps tailored to children, such as those that teach them mathematical skills.

Google also expanded its voice-activated Web-search feature found on mobile devices to PCs. People can activate the feature through the company's Chrome Web browser, either by clicking on the microphone icon or by saying the words "OK, Google" aloud, and then speaking their search query.

Google said there are more than 750 million active users of its Chrome Web browser, up from 450 million a year ago. Sundar Pichai, a Google vice president in charge of Chrome, said it is the "most popular browser used today in the world," though some research firms say Chrome is still behind Microsoft's Internet Explorer in terms of market share. Chrome comes preloaded with Google's revenue-generating Web-search engine.

Within mapping, Google redesigned its service to provide people with personalized maps based on their prior map-search history and other factors. Google Maps will soon show whether a person's contacts on Google's social networking service, Google+, posted ratings of local businesses that appear on a map following a search.

The company said it will integrate its Google Offers service into Google Maps so that businesses will be able to offer coupons to people who find their retail locations. When a person searches for, say, a coffee shop in a given area, if they find a Starbucks Corp. location and click for more information, they may see a coupon offered by Starbucks.

Google Maps is a strategically important asset for Google, with mapping becoming one of the most-used aspects of mobile devices as people navigate to homes and businesses. Google also generates revenue from many of the more than one million businesses that use Google Maps on their websites and applications.

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